This invention pertains to the art of saddle girths and more particularly to saddle girths having non-slip features. This invention is particularly applicable to non-slip saddle girths featuring interlocking hook and loop type fasteners, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it will be appreciated that the invention has broader application and may be advantageously employed in other environments.
Saddle girths of the type to which this invention pertains ordinarily extend no further than a portion of the way around the midsection of an animal. At their extreme ends, these girths of the prior art often have fastening devices to which saddles are attached. Although these girths serve to keep the saddle in close association with the horse, they do not sufficiently prevent the saddle from rotatably slipping; nor do they assure that the saddle is securely positioned on the horse. As a result, human horseback riders have fallen from their mounts and sustained injuries when saddle girths of the prior art did not prevent the saddle from slipping around the side of the horse after having been fastened into place. In order to prevent a saddle from slipping, and further to prevent resulting injuries to horseback riders, it is desirable to develop saddle girth that offers a saddle mount that is more stable than that offered by the girths of the prior art. Moreover, it is desirable to develop a girth that has greater frictional resistance than that of girths of the prior art so as to minimize rotational movement of the girth and saddle once they are positioned about the horse's midsection. Finally, it is desirable to develop a girth that is both relatively simple to secure on a horse and situated to readily receive a saddle thereon.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved arrangement which overcomes all the abovedescribed problems and others to provide a saddle girth which exhibits a secure saddle mount as well as a means for increasing rotational friction forces to minimize slipping. The girth is relatively easy to secure on a horse, and provides an economical means for securely receiving a saddle and preventing the girth and saddle from sliding out of place. The improvement allows the circumferential extent of the girth to be adjusted, and also greatly reduces the likelihood of a rider sustaining injury as a result of a non-secure girth or saddle.